Berea Softball Dominates in First of Two against Alice Lloyd
The Lady Mountaineers faced off against Alice Lloyd College tonight at home and earned an overwhelming victory. The hard work all season long made tonight’s win especially sweet, as it what the final game of the season for Berea. With stunning performances at the plate by Hallie Mattingly and Annelise Hackney, Berea’s eleven runs could not be stopped. The Berea defense played a stellar game as well, limiting Alice Lloyd College to only three runs for the duration of the game.
Berea got a jumpstart in the first inning as Mattingly, Howard, and Setters all scored after being walked and stealing themselves around the bases. Keeping the Lady Eagles to zero runs, the first inning went as well as could be hoped for. The next three innings saw little action but provoked much anxiety as Alice Lloyd gained three runs while Berea only earned two. In the top of the second, Emlee Adams of the Lady Eagles hit a shallow drive out toward right that was just beyond the grasp of Berea’s diving second base player, Devan Dowdel. The hit was just enough to send home Jada Estep for Alice Lloyd’s first run. This play seemed to propel the Lady eagles as they gained a new fervor and hope.
They played valiantly up until the sixth inning, when Berea began swinging for the fences. Many of the Lady Mountaineers were walked this inning due to wild pitching, but Hackney’s double is what made this inning something to remember. With the bases loaded, she stepped to the plate and took stock of the situation. As the pitches came down the line, she got the feel of the pitches and crushed a double out to left field that would send all three other runners home and make the score nine to three, Berea. Following this, two more runs would be scored due to an error on the part of the Lady Eagles, making the score eleven to three, and ending the game due to a run rule.
The victory over Alice Lloyd College primed Berea for their next game against the same opponents immediately following this one. They would play the second of two games in a double header afterwards to end their season.
